"Joshua
Elijah Taylor, for whom you are named, was the second son of
Micah
Zachariah Taylor. But let's go back a bit. Your
great-great-grandfather, Micah Zachariah Taylor was one of the
Mormon
Pioneers, although he did start the trek west late since he
wasn't
born until near the end of the movement. He was, of course,
raised in
a very devout and strict Mormon family. He had three wives and
fathered sixteen children, not unusual in those days. Of the
sixteen
children, only eight reached adulthood, which was also not
unusual
for those days. One of them, the eldest son, was your
great-grandfather.

"Your
great-grandfather had four children, two sons -- your
grandfather
Micah Zachariah Taylor, called, as you well know, Micah, and
his
brother Joshua Elijah Taylor, your great-uncle -- and
daughters Sarah
Elizabeth and Martha Rebecca. Apparently, your
great-grandfather was
a bit of a hell raiser, at least by community standards, until
he
decided to marry your great-grandmother. She refused to marry
him
unless he reformed himself and, as seldom happens, he did and,
as in
the case where reform does happen, went to the extreme. Not
only did
he reform himself, but became a very rigid, unbending,
fundamentalist
Mormon. Your grandfather described him as a cold,
closed-minded,
self-centered, self-righteous dictator. He was, obviously, not
overly
fond of his father!

"Your
grandfather and your great-uncle were devoted to each other
and,
growing up, both were often in trouble with their father
because they
were very alive and mischievous. Both were very open, loving
and warm
in contrast to their rigid, closed and cold father. When your
grandfather reached nineteen, he asked to postpone his
missionary
journey until Joshua could go as well. The postponement was
allowed,
but they were given very different posts. Joshua was on a team
headed
for New Mexico and Micah went to Chicago.

"There
were four on the New Mexico team. Along with Joshua from
almost
non-existent Glenview, there were two from Salt Lake, James
Watson
and Joseph Morris, and Samuel Smith from Provo. Since Joshua
was the
country boy of the lot, James and Joseph looked down on him as
an
ignorant bumpkin and made their feelings quite well-known.
Good-natured Joshua ignored them and he and Sam became close
friends
during their training period and the first weeks they were in
New
Mexico. The four were living in an apartment in Albuquerque
and in
teams of two worked different parts of the city. Joseph and
James
immediately declared themselves one team, which suited Sam and
Joshua
fine

"Joshua
was not an ignorant fellow, but his horizons had been limited,
to say
the least. Sam, on the other hand, did, after all, live in a
college
town and while BYU was Mormon to the core, it did allow a
wider view
of the world than Joshua had known. One evening when all four
of the
Mormon elders were eating supper, James and Joseph started
talking
about having knocked on a door and of having introduced
themselves to
the young man who opened the door. He told them he wasn't
interested,
but James and Joseph were very frustrated by the reception
they had
received so far that day and had decided they were not being
aggressive enough. Finally, after they still would not take no
for an
answer, the young man said, 'Damn it, will you bigots listen?
I'm not
buying nothing you stupid bigots are trying to sell.'

"'I
know he was queer,' Joseph said.

"Joshua
had, of course, heard of queers, or as they had been called in
his
church instruction, homosexuals -- and been told of what would
happen
to them, but so far as he had known, they did not really
exist. He
did understand, in a few minutes of the conversation among the
three,
why the man had called them bigots. He asked a couple
questions and
was laughed at for being so ignorant of the evils in the
world.
Later, when he and Sam had gone to bed—they
shared a room—Sam
had told him what he knew about homosexuals. The longer they
talked,
the more worried Joshua became because he began to be able to
put a
name to the feelings he had had since he was twelve or so.
When he
asked why men chose to be homosexual, Sam said it didn't make
sense
to him and, in fact, he wondered if it was a choice.

"As
the weeks passed, Sam and Joshua talked more, became closer,
more
trusting of each other, until six months before they were to
return,
one afternoon they had decided to take a break and ended up at
the
botanical garden. As they were walking in the conservatory,
and
hidden from view behind a mass of plants —not
that there was anyone else around—Sam
said, 'Joshua, sometimes I think I'm homosexual, but I didn't
choose
to be.' Startled, it took Joshua a minute to respond during
which Sam
said, 'I'm sorry. Joshua. Please don't hate me! I don't think
I could
stand that. I'm sorry.'

"When
Joshua finally had time to recover, he embraced Sam, pulling
him
close, and said, 'I'd never hate you, Sam, never. I think I
might be
a homosexual too.' The two stared into each other's eyes for a
long
time then Joshua said, 'Sam, not only do I think I am
homosexual, I
think I am in love with you.'

"A
huge grin appeared on Sam's face as he responded, 'I know I am
in
love with you.' He leaned forward and kissed Joshua tenderly
on the
lips. They two smiled at each other, exchanged a second kiss,
then
reality struck both and the smiles disappeared from their
faces.
'Sam,' Joshua said, 'we can't let anyone find out. We'll be
hated and
I, at least, shunned. I know my father will disown me or
worse.' Sam
nodded sadly.

"Josh,
gays often have a hard time today. Many religious groups condemn
them, hate crimes are committed against them, they are
discriminated
against, but compared to the attitudes Sam and Joshua faced,
life for
gays today is easy. Remember, homosexuality was a crime and
usually
carried extreme and harsh sentences if one was convicted."

"To
make a long story short, the two managed to hide their love
from the
world and from their fellow elders for the remaining six
months. They
had been invited to spend time with the Wilsons -- a Mormon
family
who lived fifty miles from Albuquerque, well out into the
country,
the only Mormons within miles, the oly people for miles. They
had met
Sam and Joshua the first day of a church conference in
Albuquerque,
the week before Sam and Joshua's two years as missionaries
were up.
The Wilsons took an immediate liking to them and invited them
to
spend a couple weeks on their ranch before going home.

"It
took some persuading, but Joshua and Sam got their departure
from
Albuquerque delayed for two weeks to visit the Wilsons. When
the
church function and Sam and Joshua's two years as missionaries
were
over Sunday morning, they all headed back to the Wilsons'
ranch.

"The
following Sunday evening, after devotions and the end of a
delightful
week with the Wilsons, Mrs. Wilson said, 'It's a shame you
can't get
a real feel for the countryside before you go back.'

"Mr.
Wilson then asked why they didn't. 'This time of year it's
warm and
not too likely to rain. You have a week. A bedroll, which you
have,
is all you really need. You can pick up food from folks along
the way
and walk and camp back to Albuquerque. Would be a wonderful
adventure
to tell your friends about. Get in a bit more mission work as
well.'
They loved the idea and Monday morning had breakfast with the
Wilsons, thanked them profusely for their hospitality and
headed for
Albuquerque with their bedrolls and food Mrs. Wilson had
prepared and
said would keep one or two days if they didn't find food along
the
way.

"Two
years walking eight or more hours a day had left them strong
legs, so
the fifty-mile trip back to Albuquerque was nothing. Anytime
they
came to a crossroads, they stopped and explored as well as
anything
else which caught their attention. Mission work? They had
finished
their two years and knew that had any Mormon known about them,
they
would have been excommunicated anyway. They did, occasionally,
stop
by a ranch for food and water -- where they introduced
themselves as
college students hiking around New Mexico after a year in
Iowa,
leaving the impression they had been college students in Des
Moines.

"They
stopped and moved away from the road and into the bush
frequently to
cuddle, exchange kisses and generally to enjoy each other's
company.
Nights they slept together, their naked bodies entangled. They
gave
each other pleasure by stroking their lover, but did nothing
more.
Their week in paradise ended much too soon, needless to say,
and they
were back in Albuquerque, gear packed, and reluctantly boarded
a
train for Utah.

"Back
home, they exchanged almost daily letters -- Joshua tried to
make it
to the mail box before anyone else and usually managed. His
mother
did comment on the fact that he seemed to be getting a lot of
mail
from Provo and he managed to change the subject. He ached to
hold Sam
in his arms and thought about him during the day and dreamed
of him
at night.

"Since
he had graduated near the top of his class, getting into BYU
would
not be a problem, especially with the excellent report he got
on his
missionary work in New Mexico. The problem was convincing his
parents
he needed college -- Micah wasn't very interested in college
and
stayed home, got married and settled down. Joshua's high
school
principal did the job for him, suggesting Joshua would be an
excellent addition to the high school as both a good Mormon
and an
athlete as he had willingly walked miles so he could
participate in
sports at his high school.

"He
was accepted at BYU, as was Sam. They asked to be roommates
which
aroused some suspicion since they had spent two years together
in New
Mexico. It took some careful argument, but reluctantly they
were
assigned to the same room. Both were delighted beyond measure.
They
settled into the dorm only to discover that a quick kiss and
embrace
was about the only way they dared express their love for each
other,
because of the way the dorms were monitored and student
attitudes.
When they had free time, they hiked to the hills for an hour
of
love-making -- kissing, much tongue play and stroking each
other.
Both completed the year with excellent grades and selected
their
majors. Joshua was going for a major in biology with a minor
in
education; Sam for a degree in forestry, hoping to make his
dream of
being a forest ranger come true.

"At
the end of the year, they were separated for the summer.
Joshua
returned to the family ranch to work and Sam headed for
California
where he would work for the national park service, a lucky
appointment made possible by some pull his father had. At the
end of
the summer, Joshua's dad reluctantly allowed him to join Sam
for a
camping and hiking trip in Yosemite. Sam, of course, was able
to
borrow camping equipment from his ranger supervisor, so Joshua
packed
very little and caught a bus to go to the man he loved.

"They
had another week in paradise. Their first night, Sam told
Joshua he
had heard two guys talking about getting sucked while 'eating
pussy.'

"'Not
an idea that appeals to me at all!' Joshua said with a frown.

"'Dumbass,'
Sam laughed, 'it doesn't have to be pussy.'

"Joshua's
face turned red as Sam laughed at him and he finally got a
huge grin
on his face and nodded. Sure they would not be discovered, Sam
took
Joshua in his mouth. The sensation was so great, Joshua shot
almost
at once, emptying a huge load into Sam's waiting mouth. When
they
kissed, he could taste himself and Sam mingled together.
Joshua was
surprised to discover taking Sam into his mouth gave him as
much
pleasure as his being in Sam's mouth—a
different pleasure, to be sure, but a great one. Both had cum
so
quickly, after holding and kissing each other for only a short
time,
they were ready to go again. The two were soon mouth to cock.
Bringing each other near to climax, then stopping, gazing into
each
other's eyes, leaning together to exchange hot kisses and
engage in
tongue battle before assuming their sixty-nine position.
Finally, Sam
could hold out no longer and filled Joshua's mouth with his
man's
nectar and, in doing so, pushed Joshua over the edge so he
gave his
gift to Sam.

"Two
very happy and temporarily sated young man were back at the
ranger's
house Saturday morning, welcoming a hot shower and clean
clothes. The
ranger took them to the bus station and they headed back to
Utah with
a week to get ready for their second year at BYU.

"Neither
had suspected the fact that they hadn't spent the entire two
weeks
with the Wilsons would ever be discovered. Unfortunately, that
was
not true. Mr. Wilson mentioned to his stake president that the
two
young elders who had spent a week with him had been
exceptionally
nice young men and he was sure they had done an excellent job
as
missionaries. The stake president mentioned it to a Mormon
official
in Albuquerque who asked if he didn't mean two weeks and the
stake
president assured him Mr. Wilson had said they stayed a week.
That
started a process which eventually resulted in their being
called
into the dean's office as soon as they returned to campus.

"He
asked them how many weeks they had spent in New Mexico after
they
completed their mission assignment. 'Weren't you supposed to
have
been at a Mr. Wilson's home two weeks? How do you explain the
second
week? Tell me about your "New Mexico adventure." They were
caught completely off-guard and although Mr. Wilson had
suggested
their camping trip, it was quick thinking on Joshua's part
that
allowed them to escape with no more than an admonition. Rather
than
appear confounded, Joshua had said their host had mentioned
how
unfortunate it was that they did have time to see some of New
Mexico
as campers and suggested they take their second week and hike
the
fifty miles to Albuquerque. The dean accepted that, but was
very
upset that they had not cleared it 'with the proper
authorities.'
Joshua had thought when they finished their two-year mission
assignment, they were free men again, but he wasn't foolish
enough to
say that. It did serve as a warning that they needed to be
extra
careful. The dean then told them to make sure their 'New
Mexico
adventure' wasn't seen in the wrong light, he would assign
them
different roommates. Protest was useless and they knew it. Had
they
known different roommates also meant different dorms, they
might have
taken the risk.

"Their
new roommates had girlfriends still in high school in
relatively
nearby towns and, as they hoped, spent as many weekends at
home as
possible. Since Sam and Joshua's times together were separated
by a
week—or
sometimes more—they
made the most of them, especially after the summer when they
had
discovered the wonders various combinations of tongues, mouths
and
cocks could create. But not all the time together was spent in
having
sex. In fact, because they had to make sure their secret was
safe,
they learned to make love with their eyes and smiles as they
spent
time together walking, hiking and, after Sam had spent a few
weekends
with Joshua's family, horseback riding.

"The
summer following their second year at BYU, Sam once again
found a
summer job, this time in forestry and was sent to Washington
state.
Joshua was back on the ranch and in addition to the usual
work, found
a part-time, non-paying job coaching baseball for a couple of
the
county baseball teams. At BYU, he had earned his life-saving
certificate from the Red Cross and started work on his
swimming
instructor's certificate, but there was no opportunity to use
them in
his county.

"He
wrote Sam daily, but received few letters in return as Sam was
often
in the backwoods where mail came when it came. As a result,
the
letters Joshua did receive were long, sometimes written over a
week
or longer. Much of their letters could easily have been no
more than
a letter between two very close friends, but the rest spoke of
their
undying love for each other and their hopes and dreams for the
future.

"The
two decided the bus trip to Washington state would take too
long and
be too expensive, so Sam came back a week early and the two
went
camping in Cache National Forest in Utah. They talked and
dreamed of
the time they could be together, knowing that would involve
leaving
Utah and likely being disowned by their family and
excommunicated.

"Their
third and fourth years at BYU were essentially the same as the
first
two, with Sam back in New Mexico between the third and fourth
year.
That summer, again with the help of his high school principal,
Joshua's father allowed him to work for the county—which
paid practically nothing—coaching
baseball
and teaching swimming at a new pool the county built. His
father only allowed him to take the job with the understanding
that
he would be on his own since he would need to hire a hand to
help out
at the ranch.

"Sam's
dad had a great deal of political clout and clout at BYU as
well, and
used it to get Joshua a great scholarship. The high school
principal
also called upon some contacts he had at BYU and Joshua had,
essentially, a free ride at BYU with his summer earnings as
spending
money, more than he would have had if his father had been
footing the
bill.

"The
fourth year, the two young men were again roommates and, while
very
careful, once their door was locked, made passionate love most
nights. They had never taken what Sam called the final step
until the
night before they left for home at Christmas. They were
cuddling in
bed when Sam said, 'Joshua, I want to give you my special
Christmas
gift. I want to give myself to you totally. I want you inside
me.'
They talked for a while and finally cock and ass were well
lubricated
with Vaseline and Joshua slowly entered Sam. When he was
completely
buried inside, the feeling was so incredible, he knew if he
moved, he
would explode inside his lover. They lay, united, for a very
long
time with Joshua making the smallest of moves, yet remaining
rock
hard. Finally, he started moving in and out of his lover,
thrusting
deep, then shallow until he exploded, his orgasm so intense,
his body
continued to spasm for several minutes afterward.

"During
the Christmas break, he applied for a teaching job at his old
high
school and was assured he had a place. He would be teaching
general
science, biology and a general math class. Additionally, he
would
earn a stipend for coaching baseball. Sam had applied for jobs
with
both the National Park and the National Forestry departments
and had
interviews while he was on Christmas holiday.

"The
two graduated with honors and Joshua, as had been expected of
him,
was back home, working for parks and recreations for the
summer and
teaching in the local high school as soon as school started.
Sam had
landed his dream job as a forest ranger and was stationed in
Ashley
National Forest, a hundred-fifty miles from where Joshua was.
They
were separated, but considered themselves lucky that Sam had
been
stationed so close.

"Both
began saving every penny they could to purchase vehicles so
they
could get together. They found a place about half-way between
where
they lived and camped there when they could, which was months
apart
when Joshua could borrow the family car and Sam's boss would
look the
other way so he could use a forestry vehicle. So far as his
forestry
boss knew, he was meeting a girlfriend. Sam was finally able
to buy a
decent second hand car in the spring. When Joshua got out of
school
for Easter break, Sam drove down to Joshua's. He spent the
night,
then the two headed back to Ashley where Sam had arranged to
be on
watch tower duty for the week. The watch tower was miles from
anything, so they got food for the week and drove to the watch
tower.
Ordinarily two guys were assigned watch duty, but since Joshua
would
be with him, Sam assured his ranger boss he could handle the
dawn to
dark duty by himself and the ranger approved.

"He
needed to be in the tower by six-thirty and didn't come down
until
eight. He did the necessary observations and recorded the
situation
-- all normal -- for five days while Joshua sat with him in
the
tower. They got in a lot of making out, but nothing beyond
that the
first two days. That could not be said of the nights as each
brought
the other, in one way or another, to a climax at least three
times.
As their third day in the tower was ending, Joshua said, 'Sam,
beloved, there will be a full moon tonight, I want to make
love to
you here, above the treetops, in the moonlight,' and did.

"The
fifth day was their last day in the tower. They packed up
their
things and were ready to go as soon as their replacements
arrived.,
which they did at four in the afternoon. Allan, one of the
two,
climbed the tower and greeted Sam and was introduced to Joshua
as a
friend from college who was on Easter break.' What's the plan
for the
rest of your break?' he asked.

"'We're
driving to my place and I'll get Sam back on a horse and maybe
drive
into Provo for some excitement.

"'Excitement?
In Provo? I guess that's right if you were college friends. I
know
Sam went to BYU so I guess you did and are Mormon as well.
Provo is
not very exciting for those of us of the tea, coffee and
alcohol
persuasion,' he laughed. 'Well, go ahead and get out of here.
I'll
handle the last few hours.' Sam thanked him and the two were
on their
way in half an hour.

"It
was in the early hours when they reached Joshua's place and
everyone
was in bed. They entered the house quietly, went into Joshua's
room
and locked the door. Joshua's father had never permitted a
lock on
the children's doors, but when Joshua started paying room and
board,
he insisted his room was his and his privacy important and
installed
a lock, much to his father's displeasure. Sam had brought his
bed
roll which he placed on the floor before crawling into bed
with
Joshua. The bed was really too small for the two men, but they
were
determined to be together. They made love, but only by
stroking each
other to a climax fearing that mouth or ass might wake the
household
as not only did both often spasm after orgasm, but Joshua was
also
known to utter loud shouts which alone would have been enough,
but
what he shouted sometimes would definitely bring down the
wrath of
his father.

"For
fear their secret might be revealed, Joshua had turned his
alarm to
soft and set it for four in the morning. When it went off,
only a
couple hours after they had gone to bed, he quickly turned it
off and
Sam moved to his sleeping bag. The last thing they did was
unlock the
door. When Joshua's mom knocked on the door the next morning,
he
called out, 'Come in, we're decent.' His mom poked her head in
the
door and said, 'Breakfast in half an hour.'

"After
an unusually long morning devotion by Mr. Taylor, the family
started
eating. ' Dad, you have anything for me to do today?' Joshua
asked.

"'Just
your usual chores,' his father replied.

"'Sam
and I are planning to ride into the mountains if I'm free.'

'''You
may go,' his father said, 'but you two need to be giving
thought to
the future. You are of an age when you need to begin to
understand a
man's place in the world.' Joshua thought there was plenty of
time
for that and, besides, he wasn't sure what a man's place was
and was
sure it was not as clearly defined as his father believed, but
he
also knew to keep his mouth shut.

"Mrs.
Taylor packed a lunch for them and they saddled up and rode
out about
eight. Sam had not grown up on horseback and while he rode
very well,
he was not the rider Joshua was, so they took it easy --
making
frequent stops to explore and just sit and talk.

"Noon,
they stopped by a small spring where they refilled their
canteens,
drank, then allowed the horses to drink. A small grove of
trees
surrounded the spring and the ground was covered with green
grass.
They hobbled the horses, took off their saddles to give the
horses a
rest, ate their lunch and decided to take a nap. Joshua took
blanket
rolls from the saddles, spread then under a tree and they lay
down,
but postponed the nap to make love.

"They
slept for over two hours before riding in a wide circle which
took
them back to the ranch. Before his father could comment, they
had
rubbed down the horses and started the evening chores, Sam and
Joshua
helping Mr. Taylor."

Mr.
VanWinkle motioned to a park bench in a shady spot. He and Josh
had
been walking for some time and the rest was welcomed by both as
he
continued the story of a man whose name Josh bore and who was
becoming very alive to him.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Editors: Jesse
and Scott

Warning: This story contains explicit descriptions of sex
between persons under twenty-one years of age.

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This story is fiction and any similarity to persons or actions
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